Ben Klassen. [Source: Creativity Movement (.com)]Former Florida state legislator Benhardt “Ben” Klassen, who served as Florida chair of the 1968 presidential campaign of George Wallace (D-AL), forms the Church of the Creator (COTC) in Lighthouse Point, Florida. Klassen was born in the Ukraine in 1918, and later lived in Mexico and Canada before moving to California as an adult. He is a former elementary school teacher and an inventor, earning a patent for an electric can opener in 1954. He moved to Florida in 1958, where he became a successful real estate agent. He became a Republican representative to the Florida House of Representatives in 1965, where he campaigned against desegregation and the federal government. He is a lifetime member of the far-right John Birch Society (see March 10, 1961 and December 2011), though he has denounced the group as a “smokescreen for the Jews” and accused Wallace of “betraying” his supporters by intentionally courting African-American support. Klassen explains his race-based religion in his church’s 511-page holy book, Nature’s Eternal Religion. Among its “16 commandments”: “It is our sacred goal to populate the lands of this earth with White people exclusively.” Klassen popularizes the war cry “Rahowa,” which stands for RAcial HOly WAr. [Anti-Defamation League, 1993; Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999] Members of the COTC, according to Klassen’s writings, see “every issue, whether religious, political, or racial, [a]s viewed through the eyes of the White Man and exclusively from the point of view of the White race as a whole.… We completely reject the Judeo-democratic-Marxist values of today and supplant them with new and basic values, of which race is the foundation.” While most right-wing extremist groups use Christianity to justify their racism, Klassen and the COTC attack Christianity as a “tremendous weapon in the worldwide Jewish drive of race-mixing.” Klassen writes that Jews “concocted” Christianity “for the very purpose of mongrelizing and destroying the White Race.” According to Klassen, Jews are “parasites” who “control and manipulate the finances, the propaganda, the media, and the governments of the world.” [Anti-Defamation League, 7/6/1999] In 2004, author Chip Berlet will write that Klassen’s religion, “Creativity,” claims that whites are destined “to rule the world and thus fulfill the purpose of the universe. To attain this destiny, it is necessary to destroy the enemies and race traitors who prevent this from happening. The primary enemies are Jews, blacks, and other ‘mud people,’ and white race traitors, including most Christians. Klassen credits the influence of Hitler’s Mein Kampf in the development of his views.… What Klassen did was to pick up ideas from the theories of [German philosopher Friedrich] Nietzsche, pantheisim, Odinism, and Celtic paganism as filtered through German Nazi retelling of the Norse heroic warrior myths, to create a religion of Aryanist white supremacy. Discarding the details, he created a form of cosmotheism in which the supreme power is the collective will of the Aryan race. The duty of every member of the Aryan race is to reflect the ideals of the heroic warrior and do battle with the enemies of the race.… Like other forms of fascism, the idea of action is central to the philosophy, as is the celebration of violence and the spilling of blood as part of a rite of passage to full adulthood.” [Chip Berlet, 2004]

Matthew Hayhow, the 23-year-old leader of the Ohio chapter of the Church of the Creator (COTC—see 1973 and 1982-1983), is arrested after robbing two banks and ultimately is sentenced to a 25-year prison term. Nine years later, Hayhow will write articles for The Struggle, the tabloid of the COTC’s successor organization. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999]

Matthew Hale. [Source: Anti-Defamation League]Twenty-four-year-old Matthew Hale, desiring to head a “religious” rather than a political group, revives the near-moribund Church of the Creator (COTC—see 1973) in East Peoria, Illinois, where he lives with his father. The COTC was nearly obliterated by a series of crippling judgments against it in regards to a murder committed by one of its former officials (see 1994). Hale has described himself as a white supremacist from the age of 11, after, he claims, discovering that “white people had been responsible for the vast majority of progress in the world, and as such, the idea that the races were ‘equal’ to one another seemed incorrect.” He is fascinated with Nazism and the work of Adolf Hitler, and formed a neo-Nazi group called “The New Reich” at age 14. Three years ago, Hale proclaimed himself the “National Leader” of the National Socialist White Americans’ Party; as a college freshman, he founded the American White Supremacist Party (AWSP) before dissolving it and unsuccessfully attempting to form a chapter of David Duke’s National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP). After abandoning his attempt to start a chapter of the NAAWP, Hale became involved with the COTC. Hale tells old COTC members that he is the “great promoter” that COTC founder Ben Klassen long promised. He enters law school in the fall; in December, he renames the group the World Church of the Creator. Hale will write of Jews: “Among ‘humans‘… there is an inborn parasite. That parasite is the Jew.” Of blacks and Asians, he will write: “Why do the n_ggers think on a lower level than we do? Because they have smaller, less developed brains. Why do Orientals think fiendishly, deviously? Because they have a different brain structure.” Of the US government, he will write, “Until the Jewish parasite is removed from the government, we Creators shall oppose all military endeavors brought in its name, for all policies emanating from [it] advance the interests of the Jews and militate against the interests of our people.” [Anti-Defamation League, 7/6/1999; Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999; Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

Matthew Hale, attempting to revive and expand the nearly-defunct Church of the Creator (COTC—see 1973 and July-December 1995), joins with two old COTC members, Matthew Hayhow (see August 1990) and Guy Lombardi, and convenes a gathering at the Montana ranch of COTC leader leader Slim Deardorff. Hale is elected Pontifex Maximus (supreme leader), and Jonathan Viktor, a devotee of COTC founder Ben Klassen, is chosen Hastus Primus, or vice president, of the reconstituted group, now officially named the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC). Hale is successful at revitalizing the organization, aggressively marketing it through pamphlets, newsletters, Web sites, a public access television show, and highly publicized public meetings. Perhaps its most popular publication is a 32-page booklet entitled “Facts that the Government and the Media Don’t Want You to Know,” which many people find on their porches and in their driveways. The booklet, written by Hale, denigrates nonwhites and promotes anti-Semitic theories about Jewish control of the media, the so-called “Kosher Food Tax,” and material allegedly demonstrating the biological superiority of whites. Unlike many white supremacist organizations, Hale works to reach out to women and children, offering far more recognition and involvement to women than other, similar movements. Hale himself is a frequent guest on national television and radio talk shows. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999; Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

Three Florida members of the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After), Jules Fettu, Donald Hansard, and Raymond Leone, are charged with assaulting an African-American man and his son after the two leave a concert in Sunrise, Florida. Witnesses will state that around 11 “skinheads,” or white males who shave their heads, espouse racist views, and sometimes display Nazi symbology, take part in the beating, kicking the pair in the back, chest, and face and smashing beer bottles over their heads. Fettu is heard to yell “white power!” and racial epithets during the attack, which is classified as a hate crime by police officers. Hansard and Leone will later plead guilty to aggravated assault; Fettu, who runs the WCOTC’s Web site, will be convicted of battery against the two. Guy Lombardi, the group’s Southeast regional director, will plead guilty to attempting to intimidate a witness in the case (see June 1998). [Anti-Defamation League, 7/6/1999; Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999]

Four armed Florida members of the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After), all under 25, rob a Broward County, Florida, video store, planning to use the proceeds for the group. Three of them will later plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges related to the robbery. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999] According to the indictment, the four chose the target “because the defendants… believed that media outlets were controlled by ‘Jews,’ and that it was permissible to steal from the ‘Jews.’” The WCOTC members reportedly pattern the robbery after a similar incident in William Pierce’s The Turner Diaries (see 1978). They discussed sending the proceeds from the robbery to WCOTC’s Illinois headquarters. Two of the criminals, Donald Hansard and Raymond Leone, have already been convicted of charges stemming from the beating of a black man and his son (see August 1997). All four defendants will plead guilty. Dawn Witherspoon receives 13 months in prison; Angela King receives six years in prison; Hansard receives four and one-half years; and Leone receives over eight years in prison. [Anti-Defamation League, 7/6/1999]

Matthew Hale, the leader of the overtly racist World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After), graduates from law school and passes the Illinois bar exam. However, the Illinois State Bar Association rejects Hale’s application to practice law because of his “character and fitness.” [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999] The commissioners deny Hale’s application because of his published rhetoric, which they find in “absolute contradiction” to the required conduct of lawyers. A report issued by the Committee on Character and Fitness quotes racial slurs from the WCOTC Web site as evidence of Hale’s “bad character.” [Anti-Defamation League, 2005] In the January 1999 issue of WCOTC’s monthly newsletter “The Struggle,” Hale implores his fellow “Creators” to mobilize themselves in the event that his appeal of the ruling is denied, writing: “I call upon all White Racial Loyalists, whether inside or outside of the Church, to stand united in their opposition to this further attempt to disempower our Race in the court of law. While the time has not yet come for protests and other public shows of support for this struggle, the time is now to galvanize the entire White Racial Loyalist community in the event that the Hearing Board also declines my certification. I need all of you to spread news of what is happening throughout our community. For now, these events must only serve to motivate all of us even further to do our utmost to bring about the destruction of the Jewish system.” [Anti-Defamation League, 7/6/1999]

Guy Lombardi, the Southeast regional director of the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After) and commander of the group’s militant “White Berets,” is charged with intimidating a witness in an assault case against two fellow WCOTC members (see August 1997). Lombardi will plead guilty to the charge. Shortly thereafter, WCOTC leader Matthew Hale will eject Lombardi from the group, for what he calls “insubordination”; Hale will assure other WCOTC members that Lombardi’s dismissal has nothing to do with his arrest, which Hale will call “a badge of honor.” [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999] In the September 1998 issue of The Struggle, Hale will write: “Lombardi was not replaced as commander of the White Berets as a form of punishment for being arrested. Not at all. Being arrested for engaging in our religious rights has never and will never be considered anything by me other than a badge of honor.” [Anti-Defamation League, 7/6/1999]

Indiana University (IU) sophomore Benjamin “August” Smith gives a fiery interview to a student reporter that details his hatred of African-Americans, Hispanics, Jews, homosexuals, and even many Christians. Smith describes himself as a member of the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After), a self-described “race religion” that espouses racism and totalitarianism. [Bloomington Independent, 8/27/1998] (Smith is the group’s “Creator of the Year” for 1998.) [Anti-Defamation League, 2005] The church has approximately three members in the Bloomington, Indiana, area. Smith explains his hatred: “White people are best and they deserve the best. We don’t believe all races are equal. We see all inferior races breeding and the number of whites is shrinking. The mud people (see 1960s and After) will turn this world into a cesspool.” Until IU officials stopped him, Smith would paper the campus with fliers three or four times a week, earning him the sobriquet “the flier guy.” A typical flier reads: “If we do nothing, we will condemn our children to live in an Alien Nation where there is no place to escape these non-White invaders. There is nothing wrong with wanting America to remain a racially and culturally European nation.” In the interview, Smith says, “We want to show people that liberals like [President] Clinton are destroying the racial basis of this country.” Smith is as blunt about his church’s position on democracy, saying: “We’re not a big fan of democracy. We believe in totalitarianism.” If the church succeeds in achieving its goals, it will, Smith says, divide the US into portions, retaining much of it for its members. “We want the Midwest. It has the most fertile land and is the best basis for a new nation,” Smith says. Minorities will not be welcome. “Send the blacks back to Africa, the Asians back to Asia,” Smith says. “They probably won’t be very happy about it but they’ll probably end up wanting to leave.” Smith says mainstream Christianity is a huge impediment to his church’s aims. “It’s not blacks and Jews, but Christianity is our biggest obstacle. It caters to the weakness of man and humble him.” The church has its own Bible, Nature’s Eternal Religion. Smith became a white supremacist after entering college. “I looked through Aryan stuff and realized historically nations function best when there’s one race. Otherwise it’s a power struggle,” he recalls. “I saw the influx of taxpayers paying for minorities. This country was founded for and by whites and that’s when I decided I had to become an activist.” Smith has lost most of his old friends, and now calls them “race traitors and non-believers,” and though he still speaks to his parents, the relationship is strained. Through its Web site, the church claims it can come to power legally and non-violently, but, the site says, if the government tries “to restrict our legal means then we have no recourse but to resort to terrorism and violence.” Smith claims he has received death threats over his activism, but says he intends to increase his recruitment efforts in and around Bloomington and nearby Indianapolis. “Indy’s a big target for us,” he explains. “There are a lot more open minds. This community is la-la land.” [Bloomington Independent, 8/27/1998] Less than a year after the interview, Smith will go on a killing rampage throughout central Indiana before killing himself (see July 2-4, 1999).

The Illinois State Bar Association hears an appeal by Matthew Hale, the leader of the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After), who was denied a law license the year before (see May 1998 - January 1999). Hale brings WCOTC member Benjamin Smith (see July 2-4, 1999) to testify on his behalf; Smith says Hale has kept him from committing acts of violence. Smith tells the Character and Fitness Committee: “He’s given me spiritual guidance.… When I first met him, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with my life, what direction I was going to go.” [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999; Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

Three separate instances of arson committed against synagogues are registered in Sacramento, California. Authorities believe the arsons may have been carried out by members of the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After), in part because of WCOTC leaflets found in one of the synagogue’s parking lots during a Holocaust Memorial Day service in April 1999. [Anti-Defamation League, 7/6/1999; Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999]

Indiana newspapers announce that the Illinois State Bar Association has denied an appeal by Matthew Hale, the leader of the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After), to practice law (see April 1999). Apparently the news triggers a murderous shooting spree by one of Hale’s disciples, Benjamin Smith (see July 2-4, 1999). [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/1999] Hales releases a statement that reads in part: “I have been denied my most precious rights of speech and religion. If the courthouse is closed to ‘NON APPROVED RELIGIONS,’ America can only be headed for violence.” Asked if he thinks Smith’s shooting spree was connected to the Illinois State Bar’s decision, Hale replies: “I do. I very much do.” [Anti-Defamation League, 7/6/1999] Hale subsequently files an appeal with the United States Supreme Court, an appeal which will be denied; in response to that denial, Hale will state that he could “no longer in good faith and in good conscience urge, recommend, or instruct my adherents and supporters in general to obey the laws of this land… whatever blood is spilled with be [sic] on the hands of those who so severely wronged us today.” [Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

Erich Josef Gliebe. [Source: Cleveland Scene]William Pierce, the founder of the neo-Nazi National Alliance (see 1970-1974) and the author of the inflammatory and highly influential white supremacist novel The Turner Diaries (see 1978) dies of cancer. He is replaced by Erich Josef Gliebe, a former boxer who runs Resistance Records, the Alliance-allied white power music label (see Late 1993 and Summer 1999), and publishes the label’s associated magazine, Resistance. Gliebe’s father was a member of the German Army during World War II, and Gliebe says he grew up “racially conscious.” Plans for Alliance after His Death - Pierce dies unexpectedly, but had long cited his failing health and advancing age as causes for concern, and said the Alliance must not make the mistakes of earlier white supremacist organizations such as the American Nazi Party (which fell apart after its leader and Pierce’s mentor, George Lincoln Rockwell, was assassinated in 1967) and the Christian Nationalist Crusade (which collapsed after the death of its leader Gerald L.K. Smith). He made careful arrangements for the Alliance to continue after his death, and leaves almost all of his personal property to the organization, including 230 acres of property in West Virginia that houses the Alliance’s compound and headquarters (see 1985), along with some 60 acres belonging to Pierce’s “Cosmotheist Community Church,” which he has tried to classify as tax-exempt (see 1978). Multi-Million Dollar Business - Under Gliebe’s leadership, the Alliance generates over $4 million a year in income, largely from the sale of white power music recordings, books, videos, and related merchandise. It broadcasts a weekly radio program, American Dissident Voices. In August 2002, the Center for New Community writes that the Alliance will likely “continue to play a strong role in the contemporary white nationalist movement, particularly by recruiting young people through its white power music distribution and merchandising.” (The organization has been particularly successful at disseminating its message during concerts by the Texas thrash-metal group Pantera, whose lead singer has worn pro-fascist shirts on stage; Alliance members hand out recruitment flyers at the shows headlined: “Remember when Heavy Metal was for Whites only? We do!”) It sells two video games, one called “Ethnic Cleansing,” where players get to exterminate minority citizens in a graphic, brutal “first-person shooter” style. Largest Neo-Nazi Group in North America - The Alliance claims over 2,500 members and units or “proto-units” (local groups that have met membership requirements but not yet been sanctioned by national headquarters) in 43 American and five Canadian cities, making it the largest and best-organized neo-Nazi group in North America. It has more than doubled its membership since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing (see 8:35 a.m. - 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995). Moderating Message, Expanding Contact with Similar Groups - Pierce led the organization in “moderating” its message, abandoning the Klan robes, brown Nazi-like uniforms, camouflage attire, and coarse racial slurs that other groups often sport. Leonard Zeskind of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights has written: “Their only uniform will be their white skins. They will seek to establish a white nation-state, with definable economic, political, and racial borders, out of the wreckage they hope to create of the United States. And from Pierce they will have learned the arts and sciences of Aryan revolution.” Along with their white power musical concerts and rallies, Alliance members have marched with neo-Confederate groups and worked with younger, more violent “skinhead” groups. Generally, the Alliance shuns many public rallies, preferring instead to “build a revolutionary infrastructure” by training what the Center for New Community will call “dedicated cadres of activists outside the eye of the public.” It has worked closely with the more overtly violent Hammerskin Nation, both in distributing “white power” music (the “Hammerskins” distribute music through Panzerfaust Records) and coordinating public activities. White Supremacists Praise Pierce after Death - A number of white supremacist leaders will praise Pierce in the days after his death. Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke says Pierce “helped people think straight about the Jewish Question and the other vital realities of race.” The overtly racist British National Party (BNP) says in a statement: “The death of Dr. Pierce has opened a huge gap in the nationalist movement in the United States. We hope for the sake of the future generations of white children for whom he felt so strongly that it will not be filled by crude inferior copies of William Pierce—the man was unique!” Dan Gentry of Christian Research praises “Pierce’s love and concern for the racial camaraderie of Celto-Saxons.” Richard Butler, the head of the neo-Nazi Aryan Nations (see Early 1970s), says, “The White Aryan race has lost a great intellectual mind and a Noble Warrior for Gods [sic] eternal truth.” And Matthew Hale, the leader of the violent separatist World Church of the Creator (see May 1996 and After), writes, “We appreciate the comradeship of many National Alliance members over the years and undoubtedly [Pierce’s] presence will be missed.” [Center for New Community, 8/2002 ]

The World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After) loses a trademark infringement lawsuit brought against it by the Te-Ta-Ma Truth Foundation, which had successfully trademarked the name “Church of the Creator” years before. Federal District Court Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow originally rules in WCOTC’s favor, but her verdict is overturned on appeal. She orders the group to stop using the name, to give up its Web addresses, and to turn over all printed material bearing the name. Group leader Matthew Hale refuses to comply, and files a lawsuit against Lefkow, claiming that she has ordered the destruction of the group’s Bibles. “If federal judges are to sit in judgment of the people, the people must be able to sit in judgment of them,” Hale says. The WCOTC’s various Web sites urge its followers to picket Lefkow’s church, and refer to her as “a white woman married to a Jew with three mixed grandchildren.” [New York Times, 1/9/2003; Anti-Defamation League, 2005] For years afterwards, Lefkow will be plagued by an incessant round of death threats, as WCOTC and other white supremacist organizations publish her name, address, and family photographs on their Web sites along with an array of violent threats. In 2003, Hale will be charged with soliciting her murder (see January 9, 2003). “Underground” radio broadcaster Hal Turner will say on his show that Lefkow is “worthy of being killed,” adding that “it wouldn’t be legal, but in my opinion it wouldn’t be wrong.” In 2005, Lefkow’s husband and mother will be murdered, possibly by Hale supporters (see February 28, 2005). [New York Times, 3/2/2005]

The World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After) announces that it is moving its headquarters to the small town of Riverton, Wyoming. Many residents and local organizations speak out against the virulently racist and white supremacist “church,” pointing to its pride in its Native American heritage. Thomas Kroenke, the “hastus primus” of the WCOTC, tells a reporter that if his organization had its way: “Well, you wouldn’t have anything, any races, except white races here. That’d be the only real difference—it would just be an all-white community.” Kroenke has lived in Riverton for two years after taking a job as a case worker at the nearby state prison farm; Kroenke lost the position after being named to a leadership position in the WCOTC. Kroenke describes himself as racist, saying: “And what I mean by that is, I felt an affinity for my own race, and a disaffinity… for all the other races. We are for the survival, preservation, and expansion of the white race.” Kroenke is the de facto leader of the organization, as church leader Matthew Hale is in jail for conspiring to kill a federal judge (see January 9, 2003). Fred Baehr, a painting contractor who lives in nearby Lander, says of the WCOTC: “We do not have a right to go and lynch them—we just don’t. But we do have a right to perhaps make them a little less comfortable. And frankly, when it comes to Nazis, I’m a little less concerned with their rights than I am with the rights of, shall I just say, decent people.” Tim Thorson of the Riverton Chamber of Commerce says the move has forced residents to examine their town’s own legacy of intolerance: “There was a time when businesses had signs in their stores saying ‘no Indians.’ That happened here.… Our focus is on trying to let the people that live here know that this is a safe place to be. And give them good reason to feel safe.” [Associated Press, 12/10/2002; National Public Radio, 2/10/2003]

Matthew Hale, the leader of the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After), shows up for a contempt of court hearing in a Chicago courtroom based on his refusal to give up his group’s name after losing a trademark infringement lawsuit (see November 2002). When Hale appears, he is arrested for soliciting the murder of the judge who presided over the lawsuit, Federal District Court Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow. Hale recently claimed Lefkow was prejudiced against him because she is married to a Jew and has children who are biracial. Law enforcement officials with Chicago’s Joint Terrorism Task Force say Hale asked another person to “forcibly assault and murder” Lefkow. FBI spokesman Thomas Kneir says: “Certainly freedom of speech and freedom of religion are important in our society here in America. But the threat of physical violence will not be tolerated.” US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald adds, “Freedom of speech does not include the freedom to solicit murder.” Hale is accompanied in the courtroom by about a dozen followers, many of whom raise their fists in what they call a Roman salute but that is more widely known as a Nazi salute. One WCOTC member, Shawm Powers, says: “This is totally bogus—it’s in our constitutional rights to believe in a religion. We are a bona fide religion, and they are trying to take that away from us. Matt Hale is not a violent man, he doesn’t advocate violence.” Anti-Defamation League official Richard Hirschhaut disagrees, saying: “Matt Hale has been allowed with impunity to engage in terrorist-like activity for four years now. He has had blood on his hands for more than four years. He is now where he should be.” Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center calls Hale “the most dangerous American racist of his generation.” Attorney Glenn Greenwald, representing Hale, says he believes the charge against Hale stems from what he calls a misinterpretation of Hale’s statement that “we are in a state of war with Judge Lefkow.” Greenwald says: “They are probably trying to take things he said along the lines of political advocacy and turn it into a crime. The FBI may have interpreted this protected speech as a threat against a federal judge, but it’s probably nothing more than some heated rhetoric.” During Hale’s incarceration, special administrative measures will be imposed to reduce his ability to communicate with his followers. [CNN, 1/8/2003; New York Times, 1/9/2003; Anti-Defamation League, 2005] The press will later learn that Hale solicited the murder from FBI informant Anthony Evola, a Chicago area pizza delivery man who was asked by Hale to distribute racist and anti-Semitic pamphlets to schoolchildren. Evola instead called the Chicago Public Schools to warn them about the racist material, and was later asked to become an FBI informant. In the months that followed, Evola became chief of Hale’s “White Beret” security squad and frequently traveled with Hale. Evola provided FBI officials with an email from Hale soliciting Lefkow’s home address, and a tape recording of a discussion between the two about Lefkow’s murder. On the tape, Evola said, “We going to exterminate the rat?” Hale replied, “Well, whatever you want to do basically.” Evola said, “The Jew rat.” Hale then said: “You know, my position has always been that I, you know, I’m going to fight within the law… but that information has been provided.… If you wish to do anything yourself, you can.” Evola replied, “Consider it done,” and Hale responded, “Good.” [Southern Poverty Law Center, 4/2003; New York Times, 3/2/2005; Associated Press, 4/26/2005] In addition, former WCOTC leader Jon Fox will testify that Hale asked him in December 2002 to kill Lefkow and others involved in the legal dispute. [Chicago Sun-Times, 4/14/2004; Chicago Tribune, 4/15/2004]

Erica Chase, a member of the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After), is convicted of plotting to blow up Jewish and African-American landmarks in and around Boston. Her boyfriend, Leo Felton, a member of the small white supremacist group The White Order of Thule, is also convicted of the same set of crimes. Chase is given five years in prison by US District Court Judge Nancy Gertner, who calls the plans “hateful” and “horrible”; Felton, who has served time for attempting to murder an African-American taxi driver, receives nearly 22 years in prison. Prosecutors accused Chase and Felton of plotting to foment a “racial holy war” (see 1973). Chase tells the court that she is sorry for her role in the plot and no longer harbors her racial hatreds. “I didn’t see how ugly and disturbing my life was when I was living in the middle of it. I had to be ripped out of it,” she says. “I have a lot of shame for everything.” The couple was arrested in August 2001 for passing counterfeit bills. Prosecutors said that Felton made the counterfeit money to help fund the plan, which included the use of a “fertilizer bomb” similar to that used in the Oklahoma City bombing (see 8:35 a.m. - 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995). The defense argued that the two were prosecuted solely for their white supremacist beliefs. [Associated Press, 3/13/2003]

Federal judge Joan Lefkow levies a $1,000/day fine against the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After) for failing to comply with a ruling in a trademark infringement lawsuit. The WCOTC was ordered to stop using the name “Church of the Creator” as a result of losing the lawsuit months earlier (see November 2002), and WCOTC leader Matthew Hale is charged with soliciting Lefkow’s murder (see January 9, 2003). The WCOTC now calls itself the “Creativity Movement,” but continues to use the earlier name. Lefkow finds the group in contempt of court and orders its Web sites to be shut down until all trademarked terms are removed from them. An Australian Creativity adherent writes on a Creativity Web forum: “This is blatant discrimination! It has all the hallmarks of being a K_ke conspiracy to weasel that extra five cents out of the White Man, while telling him that he is doing this for the good of the White Race!” Another message on the forum says: “I’ll laugh if I ever get fined $1,000.00. I spit in the eye of the Jew vermin.” The Web site is shut down shortly after the messages are posted. Its hosts explain on another site: “You can thank the jews [sic] for making us waste our time and taking our money. We would mention the people who forced us to redo this site, but they would probably bring us to court because we mentioned their name without their permission.” Other anti-Semitic and white supremacist organizations are allowing the WCOTC to broadcast its messages and sell its wares on their sites. [Anti-Defamation League, 5/1/2003] In October 2003, Lefkow will fine the WCOTC $200,000 for ignoring her April ruling. It is not clear how the group will pay the fine, or even if it can. [Chicago Sun-Times, 10/25/2003]

The World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After), almost moribund since the jailing of its leader Matthew Hale (see January 9, 2003) and forced to rename itself the Creativity Movement as a result of losing a trademark infringement lawsuit (see November 2002), is taken over by Florida white supremacist Adam Jacobs. Jacobs loses his position after being charged with viciously beating a fellow “Creator” over a period of 11 hours because he believes him to be a “snitch.” The movement again suffers a loss of membership and almost disappears entirely. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 2010]

A courtroom illustration of Matthew Hale listening to instructions from Judge John Moody. [Source: Verna Sadock / Getty Images]Matthew Hale, the leader of the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After), is convicted of one count of solicitation of murder and three counts of obstruction of justice in regards to his attempt to solicit the murder of a judge (see January 9, 2003). Hale never testified on his own behalf. Defense counsel Thomas Anthony Durkin called no witnesses, saying the prosecution’s evidence was the weakest he had seen in a major case, arguing that Hale was set up by an FBI informant. Durkin says he will appeal, and will prove that prosecutors have been “out to get Hale” because of his suspected involvement in a shooting spree by WCOTC member Benjamin Smith five years ago (see July 2-4, 1999; the jury heard audiotapes of Hale laughing about Smith’s murders and mocking the victims). US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, the lead prosecutor in the case, says the trial’s outcome proves “that we will not wait for the trigger to be pulled” before taking action. [Anti-Defamation League, 2005; Associated Press, 4/26/2005]

Michael Lefkow and Donna Humphrey are found dead of gunshots to the head in the Lefkows’ Chicago basement. The two are the husband and mother, respectively, of Federal District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow, who has endured four years’ worth of death threats ever since she ordered the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After) to abandon its name as a result of a trademark infringement lawsuit (see November 2002). Authorities are investigating whether members of the Creativity Movement, as the WCOTC is now known, are responsible for the murders. In 2004, WCOTC leader Matthew Hale was convicted of soliciting Lefkow’s murder (see April 26, 2004). Her daughter Laura Lefkow says, “I think she’s very upset with herself, maybe, for being a judge and putting her family in this danger, but there’s no way she should have known.” White supremacists celebrate the murders on their Web sites, while others theorize that Hale’s enemies murdered the two to affect his upcoming sentencing for his crimes (see April 6, 2005). Bill White, the editor of the Libertarian Socialist News, writes: “Everyone associated with the Matt Hale trial has deserved assassination for a long time. I don’t feel bad that Judge Lefkow’s family was murdered today. In fact, when I heard the story, I laughed.” Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, says, “We saw what happened the last time Matt Hale got slapped in the face by the system; the price of that was two dead and nine severely wounded.” Potok is referring to the 1999 killing spree by WCOTC member Benjamin Smith in response to Hale’s denial of a law license (see July 2-4, 1999). “Now Matt Hale is about to be sentenced, very probably, to most of his natural life to federal prison. It’s very possible that a Hale follower or sympathizer has decided to fight back.” Hale’s friend Billy Roper, who leads a group called White Revolution, disavows the murders, but draws a parallel between the Lefkow murders and the 1992 standoff at Ruby Ridge (see August 31, 1992), saying: “We can stand alongside the federal law enforcement community in saying just as they felt a deep regret and sadness over the death of Randy Weaver’s family, so we also feel a deep sense of regret and sadness over the death of Judge Lefkow’s family. If it was the case that someone was misguided and thought that they were helping Matt Hale, then it would be similar in that other people had suffered for one person’s mistake.” Hale’s mother, Evelyn Hutcheson, says her son had nothing to do with the murders: “He had nothing to do with what went on last night. My son is sitting in a hole where he’s not allowed to even speak loud enough to be audible. Common sense would tell you, if he were into having somebody kill somebody—which he is not—would he have somebody go kill the judge’s family just before he’s sentenced? Somebody has done this to make him get an enhanced sentence.” Chicago Police Department official James Molloy says: “There is much speculation about possible links between this crime and the possible involvement of hate groups. This is but one facet of our investigation. We are looking in many, many directions.” [New York Times, 3/2/2005; Chicago Tribune, 3/10/2005] Days later, the Chicago police will say that a man with no connection to Hale’s group may be responsible for the shootings (see March 10, 2005).

Bart Ross. [Source: America's Most Wanted]Chicago police say that the murders of the husband and mother of a judge who ruled against white supremacist group the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After and February 28, 2005) may have been committed by a man with no connections to the group. Bart Ross of Albany Park, Illinois, shoots himself in the head during a routine traffic stop, dying minutes later. In his suicide note, Ross claims responsibility for the double murder of US District Judge Joan Lefkow’s husband and mother. However, police decline to claim that Ross is definitely the shooter. “We’re satisfied there is information in the letter that would point to Ross being in the Lefkow house that day” of the slayings, says Chicago Police Superintendent Phil Cline. The suicide note includes details of the shooting “that were not out in the media.” However, Cline says, “While we do characterize [Wednesday] night’s developments as significant, we are not prepared at this time to definitely say any one person is responsible for these homicides. This case is by no means closed.” Other documents retrieved from Ross’s minivan recount his bitterness and hatred for Lefkow and other judges, stemming from court dealings he has had over a medical condition. Police refuse to call any of the documents a “hit list,” though the documents include the names of several judges and lawyers. Lefkow dismissed a lawsuit by Ross last September. The day of the murders, Ross was served an eviction notice by Cook County deputies. Police are searching for DNA and other forensic evidence to tie Ross into the murders; Cline says, “We are attempting to learn as much as we possibly can about Bart Ross’s history—who he was, who he was associated with, and what he was doing in the days leading up to and following the Lefkow murders.” Local television station WMAQ receives a handwritten letter, signed Bart A. Ross, claiming that the author broke into the Lefkow home at 4:30 a.m. with the intention of killing the judge and anyone else in the house. According to the letter, the writer waited all day in a basement utility room before shooting the husband, Michael Lefkow, when Lefkow discovered him hiding in the room. The writer claims to have then shot the mother, Donna Humphrey, after she heard the gunshot and called out to her son-in-law. The writer says he then waited for the judge to come home, but left hours before she arrived later that evening. Police sources say they believe the letter to be legitimate. WCOTC leader Matthew Hale has been a prime suspect in soliciting the murders; Hale’s attorney Glenn Greenwald reveals that six to eight weeks before the murders, Hale’s mother asked him to pass what was clearly a coded message from Hale to a WCOTC follower. Greenwald says he refused because he did not understand what Hale was saying in the note. [Chicago Tribune, 3/10/2005]

White supremacist Matthew Hale, the leader of the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After), receives a 40-year sentence for soliciting the murder of US District Court Judge Joan Lefkow (see January 9, 2003). Lefkow ruled against Hale’s group in a trademark dispute (see November 2002). Hale is sentenced after a rambling, two-hour statement in which he claims he is the victim. “I have to go back to a solitary cell—I have to go back to hell,” Hale tells Judge James Moody. “They want me to die in a hole.” In his statement, Hale compares the FBI to the Gestapo, says the national news media was out to get him, blames his former lawyer for representing him poorly, and chants the national anthem. He claims that he and Lefkow are “on the same side against these liars.” Moody, unmoved by Hale’s statement, gives Hale the maximum sentence for his crimes. US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald argued that Hale’s crime was essentially an act of domestic terrorism and Moody agrees. “Mr. Hale is not concerned about taking someone’s life, but rather how to do it without getting caught,” Moody says. “I consider Mr. Hale to be extremely dangerous and the offense for which he was convicted to be extremely egregious.” After the ruling, Fitzgerald tells reporters, “I put no stock in his claims, the crocodile tears, that he didn’t do anything wrong.” Hale’s mother, Evelyn Hutcheson, tells reporters: “I think it’s absolutely horrible. “Matt’s the only one in there telling the… truth.” [National Public Radio, 4/6/2005; Associated Press, 4/7/2005] Hale will serve his sentence at the Florence, Colorado, “supermax” prison, the same prison where convicted bombers Eric Rudolph (see July 18, 2005) and Ted Kaczynski (see April 3, 1996) are held. [Chicago Sun-Times, 4/28/2005]

A federal jury in North Carolina finds that the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After) illegally attempted to sell land it owned in order to avoid turning it over to a black family that won a court case against the group. The leader of the group, Ben Klassen, sold church land and assets to white supremacist William Pierce (see July 1992), the head of the neo-Nazi National Alliance, in order to dodge paying the family of Harold Mansfield, an African-American murdered by a group member (see June 6, 1991 and After). Mansfield’s family will receive the $85,000 in profits Pierce earned when he in turn sold the land. Pierce says he will appeal the verdict and will challenge the role of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in the court case; SPLC lawyers represented Mansfield’s family. SPLC lawyer Richard Cohen says the principle in the jury’s verdict is more important than the money. “We are trying to make sure that the organizers and leaders of hate groups which take violent actions pay the price,” Cohen says. “While he had no role in the killing of Harold Mansfield, Dr. Pierce tried to help the Church of the Creator avoid paying the price by keeping its assets away from Harold’s mother.” [New York Times, 5/19/2006]

The Creativity Alliance logo. [Source: Wikimedia]After the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After) renames itself the Creativity Movement and nearly dissolves (see 2004-2005), a splinter group calling itself the Creativity Alliance forms. It is formed from former members of the earlier WCOTC, and claims no alliance with the Creativity Movement, though, like its parent organization, it views Ben Klassen (see 1973) as its founder. It has a more informal organizational structure than the older organization, with individual members expected to find at least one receptive white person to join them in the formation of a local chapter. The Alliance claims to eschew violence and says it is not involved in “the ‘White Power’ social scene,” but a 2008 article from its Web site uses racial slurs against African-Americans and Jews, and ends with the call: “White man fight! White man fight! White man fight!” [Southern Poverty Law Center, 2010]

The Creativity Movement, formerly known as the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC—see May 1996 and After) and nearly destroyed by failures of leadership (see January 9, 2003 and 2004-2005), experiences something of a resurgence when its Montana chapter begins doing literature drops and staging rallies. By the end of the year, the organization has 14 chapters, up from three in 2008. Though most of the chapters are in Montana, the Creativity Movement is led by James Logsdon of Zion, Illinois. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 2010]

Ordering

Time period

Email Updates

Receive weekly email updates summarizing what contributors have added to the History Commons database

Donate

Developing and maintaining this site is very labor intensive. If you find it useful, please give us a hand and donate what you can.Donate Now

Volunteer

If you would like to help us with this effort, please contact us. We need help with programming (Java, JDO, mysql, and xml), design, networking, and publicity. If you want to contribute information to this site, click the register link at the top of the page, and start contributing.Contact Us